Isreal, Hamas agree on ceasefire for polio vaccination in Gaza

Israel and Hamas have agreed to a temporary ceasefire in the Gaza Strip to allow children to be vaccinated against polio, a World Health Organization official said on Thursday.

The WHO's representative for the occupied Palestinian Territory, Rik Peeperkorn, said during a press conference at the UN headquarters in New York that the vaccination campaign will begin on Sept. 1. According to an agreement reached by relevant parties, three-day ceasefires will be implemented consecutively in the central, southern and northern parts of the Gaza Strip, he said.

"We have a preliminary commitment for area specific humanitarian pauses during the campaign, and we call all parties to pause, of course, the fighting to allow children and families to safely access health facilities and community health outreach workers to get to the children who cannot access health facilities for polio vaccination," he said. Peeperkorn said that the WHO has reached an agreement with the Israeli side that there will be no new evacuation orders during the vaccination period. The parties concerned also agreed that if necessary, the ceasefire in each area may be extended.

"The three days might not be enough to achieve adequate vaccination. So, we will monitor throughout the campaign, it has been agreed when needed the campaign will be extended by one day per zone, or even more when necessary," he said.

Basem al-Naim, a member of the Hamas Political Bureau, welcomed the WHO announcement to launch a polio vaccination campaign in the Gaza Strip. Hamas expressed its willingness to cooperate with international organizations to protect Palestinian children in the Gaza Strip.

Poliomyelitis, commonly known as polio, is an acute infectious disease caused by the poliovirus, primarily affecting children under five. It can lead to paralysis or death in severe cases. With no cure available, vaccination remains the most effective and economical method of prevention.

Poliovirus was detected in environmental samples in the Gaza Strip in July. On Monday, health authorities in the Gaza Strip announced on Monday that a polio epidemic had broken out across the Palestinian enclave, blaming Israeli military operations for the damage to sanitation and medical systems that had precipitated the spread of the deadly virus.

Isreal, Hamas agree on ceasefire for polio vaccination in Gaza

Smoke from wildfires shrouding over many parts of Mato Grosso, the most severely impacted state by wildfires in Brazil, has caused discomfort among local residents as it persists due to prolonged heatwave.

According to statistics from the National Institute for Space Research, as of Friday, Brazil had recorded over 180,000 wildfires in 2024, with nearly 40,000 of them occurring in Mato Grosso state, ranking it first among all the states in Brazil.

Residents of Cuiaba, the capital of Mato Grosso, said while high temperatures and dry weather were typical in the city in previous years, the prolonged heatwave coupled with smoke this year is highly unusual.

"The smoke is worsening. The situation has been very dire over the past two months. We have not had rain for over 100 days. Low humidity, below 10 percent, is a huge problem, necessitating extensive use of humidifiers for us," said Guilherme Rodrigues Mendes, a resident.

"The weather is quite bad. I feel terrible. I have been sick at least three times. My throat is extremely dry, leading to coughing and feeling nauseous," said Navai, another resident.

According to the local fire department, 1,000 firefighters are battling fires across multiple locations in Mato Grosso. The state encompasses three vital biomes -- the Amazon rainforest, the Cerrado savannah, and the Pantanal wetlands. Currently, the fires in the Pantanal wetlands are largely contained, yet numerous active fire points persist in the Amazon rainforest and Cerrado savannah.

Wildfire smoke in Brazil's Mato Grosso state causes discomfort among locals